Spring Break

How does one return from paradise? We spent the last 10 days at Grandpa's place in Fort Myers. The weather was so gorgeous that the forecast looked impossible on the tv screen each day. High reached about 87 and low was about 82. The evenings weren't even cool enough to wear pants! We enjoyed the great swimming pool, the gym, the spa. Liam and Maddie both got to test out Liam's new clubs at the driving range. It was so relaxing and the kids got some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa.

During the trip, we really began to notice Isabella's affinity for speaking Spanish. The Spanish teacher at school had already mentioned to me that Isabella seemed to really pick up the language quickly, which I agreed with. However, I really began to notice that her everyday speech has become littered with Spanish words and phrases here and there! It's quite funny and unexpected.

We were at the beach in Sarasota and she was drawing "letters" in the sand with her finger. John tried to pronounce what the word looked like.

Isabella: "Daddy, can you read what that says?"

John: "It says... goj."

Isabella: "No, Daddy. It says 'hope'."

John: "Hope?" (looking at me quizzically)

Isabella: "Hope. Look. (points at the letter "O" written in the sand then at her mouth) with an 'o' en la boca." (in your mouth - in Spanish)

We found this to be even more meaningful than just the usual ramblings of the kids. John had just found out that morning that his mentor and close friend from work had died unexpectedly at age 34. Our kids always seem to know when something is not right with us and find some way to bring comfort.